travel by train to Cherkasy, Ukraine, poster

Despite featuring a steam train, it may not be as old as it looks.  Cherkasy is a city downstream of Kiev on the Dnieper River.

Boeing 727-134

The Boeing 727-134 is a specific variant of the Boeing 727 airliner, known for its trijet configuration and distinctive T-tail. It was a popular aircraft for domestic and international routes within its range, and remains a notable part of aviation history.

trolley and diesel buses lined up near Wellington station in 1978

Wellington's trolley buses have been history since 2017 and so is the red livery.

For lots of history see the book Wellington Transport Memories. (Peter Moses pic via Motat)

Sydney electric multiple unit, 1955

Location not stated. (Les Stone pic via City of Sydney Archives)  For lots more, see the book Railway Elecrification in Australia and New Zealand.

'I like to go shopping for real books, not play with a little device'

train and station atmosphere, 1940s

 

The steam locomotives are German, but the passenger car is British.

an NZ Fiat railcar on its way to the Wairarapa stops briefly at Upper Hutt station in the early 1970s

With a Wellington region electric multiple unit on the opposite platform.  For lots more, see the book Wellington Transport Memories.

Bagnall tank engine at the Christchurch NZ gas works in 1960

The engine was built in 1909 and the coal wagons will have been NZR ones. In the background is the tipler to dump the coal into the heap. The Christchurch Gas Coal and Coke Company donated the Bagnall to the Canterbury Railway Society in 1970 and apparently it is currently in Ferrymead, dismantled. The gasworks ceased in 1982. (Pic credited to B.D. Whebell, colorized)

Christchurch NZ tram, January 1950

Tram No. 152 seen inward bound from Opawa on the cross-city service to Fendalton which closed the following month. This is the Shakespeare Road and Waltham Road intersection, the former junction of the St Martins line, which had closed in May 1946.  The streets have since been much widened.

1955 Studebaker President Speedster

an NZR goods train from the Tahakopa branch joins the South Island Main Trunk near Balclutha

For lots more, get the book New Zealand 1950s Steam in Colour compiled from the Derek Cross collection

'Fiducia' tram travels east through Courtenay Place in Wellington NZ, in 1962

One notes the Humber and Commer signs on the building a few doors along from the interesection.  This was assembler Todd Motors' Wellington sales building, demolished in the late 1980s.

For lots of pics like this, see the books Wellington Transport Memories and Wellington: a Capital century

opening of the NZR branch line to Motuhora, 1917

Motuhora was later respelled as Moutuhora. This is Monday 26 November 1917 at about 12.30 pm and shows the official train arriving at Motuhora from Gisborne for the opening ceremony. hauled by two 2-6-2T Wa-class locomotives. That class was replaced by 4-6-4T Wg-class locomotives from 1942. Later, 4-8-0 Bb's, then 4-6-2 Ab's ran trains on the line until it closed in 1959.

For lots more see the book Steaming to the Sunrise.

1938 Cadillac Series 90

 

More pics and info

cars in Mobridge, South Dakota, late 1950s

 

'I love finding great printed books to read'

when Boeing 747 SPs landed in Wellington

A photo from 1985.  It wasn't long before the largest aircraft you saw was a Boeing 767, and now it's rare that anything bigger than an Airbus 320 shows up. (Thelma Whiston pic)

The scene today.

traffic in Panama City, 1949

With what looks like a 1940 LaSalle.

NZR Ed class electrics at the Wellington locomotive depot circa 1960

 For lots more see the book Wellington Transport Memories.

Husky runabout boat graphic art for Wisconsin Marine Motors, 1921

Cadillac on Muriwai Beach NZ, 1921

Howard Nattrass winner of the first New Zealand Motor Cup at the wheel of his Cadillac on Muriwai beach.

Sydney downtown traffic in 1959 as recreated for a movie

This is a still from the movie Ladies in Black (2018) which is based on sales ladies working in a fictional department store Goodes in the center of this scene. The department store Mark Foys on the left was a real one which closed in 1980. The trams didn't have long to run in reality (see earlier posts).

The movie was remade as a 6-part series by Netflix in 2024 but filmed in Adelaide with much reduced street/external scenes.

1960 Borgward P100 4-door sedan

an NZR Uc class 10-wheeler from 1901 enters Greymouth NZ with a guard's van and a carriage, 1950s

For lots more, get the book New Zealand 1950s Steam in Colour compiled from the Derek Cross collection

1938 Hudson Terraplane Sedan

'I like traditional things and I read real printed books'

1942 Dodge D-22 Deluxe Coupe

More pics and info

1966 Subaru Sambar Dias van model

1960-61 Subaru Sambar

 

the Puffing Billy line, Melbourne, narrow gauge wood fired locomotive

Video link

The blurb: 

"Some spectacular steam action at the Puffing Billy Railway on the evening of 12 November 2025 as we follow 8A haul a wood collection train from Belgrave to Gembrook on this stunning spring evening.This video shows the 1908-built engine haul two cars to Menzies Creek, do unusual shunting at Menzies Creek, a standing start on a 1:40 grade at Cockatoo and cross fielder Bridge at Sunset. 

The Puffing Billy Railway is a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge heritage railway in the southern foothills of the Dandenong Ranges in Melbourne, Australia. The railway was one of the five narrow gauge lines of the Victorian Railways which opened around the beginning of the 20th century. It is close to the city of Melbourne and is one of the most popular steam heritage railways in the world, attracting tourists from Australia and overseas. 

The railway aims to preserve and restore the line and its operation as closely as possible to the way it was in the first three decades of its existence, but with particular emphasis on the early 1920s. The starting point of the railway is Belgrave station which houses the railway's operations and administration centre. The line runs through the beautiful Ranges on its 24 km run to Gembrook railway station. For more information about how to become a Volunteer and also purchase tickets on the Puffing Billy Railway please visit: www.puffingbilly.com.au

an NZR Ew arrives in the Wellington NZ railyard with a suburban passenger train circa 1960

For lots more see the book Wellington Transport Memories.

an NZR Df+Dg haul a freight train through Newmarket, Auckland NZ, in 1959

(colorized)

1975 Ford Granada

 

riders on the Mornington Cable Car, Dunedin, 1956

You can imagine the reaction from Safety and Health today to riders on the running board holding on to handles!  For more, see here and of course our books.

various Renault models

Italian poster. The last shown was a Renault 17 in France but Renault 177 in Italy, because apparently the number 17 carries misfortune in Italy.

'I'm a traditionalist, I like wearing pantyhose and reading printed books'

an NZR B class 4-8-0 at the head of a goods train over the Reefton Saddle

On the West Coast of the South Island. There will have been a pusher at the train end.  For lots more see the book New Zealand 1950s Steam in Colour compiled from the Derek Cross collection.

South Brooklyn Railway NYC diesel switcher, mid 1970s

The locomotive is a GE 70-ton switcher of which 238 were built from January 1947 to December 1955.

The South Brooklyn Railway still exists, owned by the city, but has been truncated from its original extent.  Info

The same scene today

Dutch 1300 class electric runs a passenger train through woodland, circa 1960

See earlier posts. (colorized)

steam through the Thüringer Wald, Germany

What looks like a class 38 10-wheeler pulls 4 box cars through pretty woodland.  The 38 class is available as a Märklin model - see here https://www.maerklin.de/en/products/details/article/39380

steam days on the West Coast of NZ's South Island, 1950s

Tank engines hauling trains of coal and sawn timber long represented typical scenes -- until 1969. For info and lots more pics get the book New Zealand 1950s steam in colour compiled from the Derek Cross collection.

meter-gauge trams in Halberstadt, Germany, 1981

 

This was of course in DDR days and the attractive half-timbered houses display communist maintenance.  

Today they look quite different.

See earlier post.

the Dresden Standseilbahn (funicular), Germany

This runs from Loschwitz to Weisser Hirsch and has similar design and dimsensions to the Wellington Cable car, which is 600 metres long with a 20% gradient and meter gauge.

Length: 547 m, maximum gradient 29%, 95 meters height difference, speed of 5 meters per second. It has two tunnels and a bridge.

Design type: Suspension railway with Abt passing loop

Operator: Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe AG

The blurb: "Dresden's Funicular Railway has been carrying passengers from the Loschwitz district to the Weisser Hirsch area, which is higher up, since 1895. The funicular has been a protected monument since 1984. The railway has long been a major tourist attraction in Dresden.

"The picturesque scenery makes the ride on the funicular a very special experience. From the bottom of the Elbe slopes, the valley between Oberloschwitz and Weisser Hirsch is not really perceptible. It is only when the carriage emerges from the tunnel at the station in the valley that the scenic view over Dresden opens up.

It then passes by the Rothe Amsel, a mill (now the Leonhardi Museum) built in 1880 in the Old German style, and continues to the upper station. From the upper station, too, you can go walking through the pretty villas district and the Dresden Heath forest."

1934 Voisin C25 Aérodyne

 Lots more pics and info